Fertilizer Companies Blame City For West, TX, Explosion

Two of four fertilizer suppliers named as defendants in the massive West explosion litigation are seeking to blame the city of West and its volunteer firefighters for the disaster.

In recent motions aiming to designate the city of West as a “responsible third party” in the lawsuits, El Dorado Chemical Co. and CF Industries contend the city failed to properly train the first responders and had insufficient protocols in place to battle the April 17, 2013, blaze at West Fertilizer Co. that triggered the explosion.

The motion from CF Industries also seeks to designate an unknown “John Doe,” who the motion says may have started the fire, and the makers of a golf cart, which was inside West Fertilizer and may have caused the fire through a potential electrical short, the State Fire Marshal’s Office has said.